News Releases

April 5, 2007

Singapore man pleads guilty to conspiracy to provide material
support to a foreign terrorist organization and money launderingAided
Tamil Tiger terrorists in the attempt to purchase surface-to- air missiles,
night vision devices, machine guns and state of the art firearms

Washington—Haniffa Bin Osman 55, a citizen of the Republic of Singapore,
pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to provide material support to a designated
foreign terrorist organization and money laundering.

According to the plea agreement, from April to Sept. 29, 2006, Osman
conspired with Haji Subandi and Erick Wotulo to provide state-of-the-art
firearms, machine guns and ammunition, surface-to-air missiles, night vision
goggles and other military weapons to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(Tamil Tigers) operating within Sri Lanka, to be used to fight against Sri
Lankan government forces. The conspirators contacted an undercover
business in Maryland about the sale of military weapons, requesting price quotes
and negotiating the purchases. Subandi sent an itemized list of 53
military weapons, including sniper rifles, machine guns and grenade launchers,
that he wanted to acquire for the Tamil Tigers. Subandi advised the undercover
business that Osman would inspect the weapons for the Tamil Tigers. Wotulo also
advised that the chief of the Tamil Tigers requested that he and Osman travel to
Baltimore to meet with the undercover agents.

“Keeping sophisticated U.S. weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists
has never been more important,” said James A. Dinkins, Special Agent in Charge
for Baltimore for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “This
three-year undercover investigation conducted by ICE, in collaboration with our
federal and local law enforcement partners, highlights the reach and impact of
international arms trafficking. As this case demonstrates, ICE has no tolerance
for international arms brokers looking to equip terrorist organizations with
advanced American weaponry.”

“Osman is the third defendant to plead guilty to conspiracy to provide
material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, and three
defendants have pleaded guilty to attempting to illegally export arms,” said
U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein. “We will use
all available legal tools to prevent terrorism, including undercover operations
targeting people who attempt to obtain military weapons in violation of American
law."

In July 2006, Osman met with undercover agents in Baltimore and stated that
the weapons were for the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Osman said that he was
not a Tamil Tigers member but was helping them obtain weapons. The agents
showed Osman a variety of weapons, ammunition and night vision devices.

While in Baltimore, Osman discussed the illegality of the transfer of
the arms to the Tamil Tigers and provided navigational coordinates for a
delivery in the Indian Ocean. Osman stated that if the first transfer of the
weapons were successful, the second order could be worth as much as $15 million.
Osman also inquired about pricing for unmanned aerial vehicles, and test-fired
several weapons, including machine guns and sniper rifles. Osman discussed the
commission he would receive for the arms sale. He also raised the possibility
that members of the Sea Tigers, the Marine Unit of the Tamil Tigers, would also
escort the weapons to their final destination.

On Aug. 1, 2006, Osman told the undercover agents that the Tamil Tigers
wired a deposit of $250,000 as a down payment for the purchase of the
weapons. Indeed, the next day $250,000 was wired from Malaysia to an
undercover bank account in Maryland. Later that month Osman requested that the
undercover business provide photographs and technical specifications for surface
to air missiles.

Osman arrived in Guam on September 26, 2006, and inspected various machine
guns, sniper rifles and ammunition. He also inspected two surface-to-air
missiles and agreed to communicate with others within the Tamil Tigers about the
availability and pricing of the missiles. After the inspection was
completed, Osman agreed to arrange for the transfer of additional money
into an undercover bank account in Maryland as further payment for the arms and
munitions. On September 28 an additional $452,000 was wired from Malaysia to the
undercover account in Maryland as a further down payment on the $900,000 worth
of weapons ordered by the Tamil Tigers.

On Sept. 29, 2006, Wotulo arrived in Guam and met with Osman and undercover
agents to discuss the ship-board loading of the arms and munitions.
They also discussed current and future sales of weapons to the Tamil Tigers
with undercover agents. They were then arrested.

Osman faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to provide
material support to a foreign terrorist organization and 20 years in prison for
money laundering. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled
Osman’s sentencing for June 25, 2007, at 9:15 a.m.

Subandi, 70, a citizen of the Republic of Indonesia, pleaded guilty on March
8, 2007, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison for conspiracy to
provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; 20 years in prison
for each of two counts of money laundering; and 10 years in prison for attempted
exportation of arms and munitions. Judge Blake has scheduled
Subandi’s sentencing for June 15, 2007 at 10:30 a.m.

Wotulo, 60, a citizen of the Republic of Indonesia, and a retired Indonesian
Marine Corps General, pleaded guilty on February 23, 2007, to conspiracy to
provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and
money laundering. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for
conspiracy to provide material support and a maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison for money laundering. Judge Blake has scheduled Wotulo’s sentencing
for May 25, 2007 at 10:00 a.m.

Reinhard Rusli, 34, and Helmi Soedirdja, 33, both citizens of Indonesia,
pleaded guilty to attempting to illegally export arms and money laundering on
January 30, 2007. They face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison,
followed by five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine for money
laundering and 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release
and a $1,000,000 fine for attempted exportation of arms. Judge Blake has
scheduled their sentencing for April 27, 2007, at 11:00 a.m.

Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, 36, a citizen of the Democratic Socialist
Republic of Sri Lanka, is scheduled to go to trial on May 14, 2007, on charges
of conspiracy to export arms; conspiracy to provide support to a foreign
terrorist organization; money laundering; attempted export of weapons; and
possession of firearms in relation to a crime of violence.

"The disruption of the supply chain of this organization should reassure the
public that the U.S. Government is committed to dismantling terrorist groups
worldwide,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) William D. Chase, of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work
to prevent any person from using the United States to raise funds or procure
arms to commit acts of terrorism."

"Combating terrorism is a priority of the DCIS and of the Department of
Defense,”said Dan Willkens, Director, Defense Criminal Investigative Service
(DCIS). “Today's plea demonstrates DCIS' commitment to ensuring that
weapons and critical technologies do not fall into the hands of terrorists or
those who would do us harm. DCIS will continue to work in partnership with
all law enforcement agencies to combat this threat."

Founded in 1976, the Tamil Tigers have advocated the violent overthrow of the
Sri Lankan government, employing acts of violence, including suicide
bombings, against both civilian and military targets. Approximately 200
such attacks have been attributed to the Tamil Tigers to date. The Tamil
Tigers rely heavily upon supporters throughout the world to raise and launder
money, acquire intelligence and purchase military use technology. The U.S.
Department of State designated the Tamil Tigers as a Foreign Terrorist
Organization in 1997. As such, the Tamil Tigers cannot legally raise money
or procure operational equipment in the United States.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Maryland James G. Warwick, and
Harry M. Gruberare prosecuting the case; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Harvey
Eisenberg, Chief of National Security, is supervising the case.

-- ICE --

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was
established in March 2003 as the largest investigative arm of the
Department of Homeland Security. ICE is comprised of five integrated
divisions that form a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad
responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities.